UPS worker jailed for 12 years after smuggling £10m of cocaine into UK

A former UPS supervisor has been jailed for 12 years after helping smuggle around £10 million worth of cocaine into the UK through an Essex distribution depot.

Southwark Crown Court heard Zak Archbold, 30, known as "King" on the encrypted EncroChat messaging platform, used his position at the UPS depot in Stanford-le-Hope to ensure cocaine shipments from the Netherlands passed through undetected.

The court heard the operation involved 290 kilograms of cocaine imported over five weeks in April and May 2020. Archbold received £750 for every kilogram successfully transported, while the criminal network reportedly paid about £2,000 per kilogram to use the route.

Co-defendant Steven Bullen, 51, was sentenced to 16 years and four months after admitting his role in conspiracies involving 790 kilograms of cocaine, 242 kilograms of MDMA and 114 kilograms of amphetamine.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Nathaniel Rudolf KC said Archbold had "enthusiastically played your part" after joining the operation because of debt. Addressing both men, he added: "Taking part in the way you both did in high-level criminality involving this amount of drugs is a pathway of risk and reward."

The Crown Prosecution Service said the convictions followed a joint investigation with the National Crime Agency and international partners after law enforcement gained access to the EncroChat network. Three other suspects linked to the operation remain at large.